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TEXT STUDY

“Eleven”
by Sandra Cisneros

map Grade 6 • Unit 1

Unit I Won’t Grow Up
Type Short Story (Lexile n/a)

OVERVIEW • TEXT STUDY • ASSESSMENT

overview
Rationale
In the poignant story “Eleven,” written by Sandra Cisneros, a young girl named Rachel recounts the devastation she
feels when her birthday is ruined by an insensitive teacher. Using first-person narration, Cisneros’s protagonist is a
complex character; at once childish as well as wise beyond her years, Rachel’s vacillation between little girl and sage
young lady highlights how age encompasses more than a number. Students will enjoy the way Cisneros captures
a young voice, and many will identify with Rachel’s “coming of age” experience and understand her complicated
feelings about growing older. The story provides teachers an accessible and compelling text to teach students point of
view and help them examine rich figurative language.

Suggestions for Use

A fairly short work, “Eleven” can be read aloud as a class, with partners, or independently by the students. The text
study questions move through the short story paragraph by paragraph and help students comprehend plot (and its five
parts), characterization, point of view, figurative language, and theme. The teacher can lead the close reading of the
text and elicit student responses as a class activity. Alternatively, students can work with partners or in small groups,
responding to the questions while the teacher provides additional support by circulating the room and working with
individual students. Two different performance assessments are included after the questions, each targeting a different
Common Core State Standard (CCSS) writing standard. Teachers can include this story—and the text study’s lesson
reviewing in literary elements and plot components—in a larger short story and/or poetry unit with a focus on creative
writing. “Eleven” would also fit well into a thematic unit exploring the trials and tribulations of growing up (paired
with an anchor novel such as Peter Pan).

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 “Eleven” by Sandra Cisneros THE WHEATLEY PORTFOLIO

Common Core State Standards Alignment

(a) Focus Standards
Students will practice the following standards through the analysis of the text and the completion of the performance
assessment.
RL.6.3 Describe how a particular story’s or drama’s plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters
respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution.
RL.6.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative
meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone.
RL.6.6 Explain how an author develops the point of view of the narrator or speaker in a text.
W.6.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through
the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.
W.6.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant
descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.

Vocabulary
The story’s vocabulary will not present a challenge to most students. There may be a few unfamiliar words; these have
been identified below and should be discussed before reading the story. In addition, some of the text study’s questions
include teaching terminology that should be explained before students provide their responses (these terms are also
included below). Finally, teachers should consider reviewing a story’s basic plot line (exposition, rising action, climax,
falling action, and resolution) as well as certain literary elements (point of view and figurative language).
Academic Vocabulary Teaching Terminology
ƒƒ rattling ƒƒ exposition
ƒƒ raggedy ƒƒ rising action
ƒƒ nonsense ƒƒ climax
ƒƒ sensitivity ƒƒ falling action
ƒƒ authentic ƒƒ resolution
ƒƒ complex ƒƒ protagonist
ƒƒ perceptiveness ƒƒ syntax
ƒƒ recount ƒƒ figurative language
ƒƒ distressing ƒƒ metaphor
ƒƒ recollection ƒƒ simile
ƒƒ exaggerate ƒƒ first-person point of view
ƒƒ indisputable
ƒƒ transfer

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 “Eleven” by Sandra Cisneros THE WHEATLEY PORTFOLIO

Text STUDY

Note to teachers: The following questions move through the text paragraph by paragraph. The questions are also grouped
according to what part of the story they represent (exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution).

1 In the story’s opening sentence, Rachel, the protagonist, starts off by saying, “What they don’t understand about
birthdays and what they never tell you is that when you’re eleven, you’re also ten, and nine, and eight, and
seven, and six, and five, and four, and three, and two, and one.” Who is “they” in the above sentence? Who is
“you”? Why don’t they “understand” and “never tell” what is true about birthdays? What is true about birthdays,
according to Rachel?
ƒƒ “They” is a pronoun referring to adults.
ƒƒ “You” is a pronoun referring to children.
ƒƒ Adults do not share the truth about what it is like to get older because they may have forgotten how it feels for
a child.
ƒƒ When a child becomes a year older, she is still the other ages she has been (which Rachel includes in a list
counting backwards from age eleven). She might be considered older, but the other years of her life—and how
she was defined during those years—still make up who she is. From Rachel’s perspective, she might be eleven,
but experiences she has an eleven-year-old girl might elicit a reaction from a younger version of herself.

2 Rachel describes the disappointment she faces upon waking up on the morning of her birthday. She states, “You
open your eyes and everything’s just like yesterday, only it’s today.” What might she have expected to feel upon
opening her eyes?
ƒƒ For a young child, the idea of growing older is somewhat magical. A child sees how age changes people and
confers more privileges and respect upon them. When Rachel opens her eyes, she expects to see herself
differently. Instead, she opens her eyes to what is real and factual; she is not different at all. She is the same as
“yesterday.” The magic of what a birthday represents is no longer as powerful as it once was.

3 What does Rachel mean when she says she feels like she is still ten “underneath the year that makes [her] eleven”?
ƒƒ “Underneath” suggests that the age before eleven—ten—is just beneath the surface of who Rachel is. When
something is underneath something else, it still can affect what lies on top. Using the word “underneath” lets
the reader know that Rachel’s other ages—the other Rachels she has been throughout her short life—continue
to impact how she feels and behaves.

4 Rachel explains what it is like to have all these ages “underneath” her skin by describing how on certain days,
she can behave and feel like a much younger Rachel. She notices that her mother also still “feels” these other
parts of herself, such as the part of her mother who is “[feeling] three” when “she’s sad and needs to cry.” What
does this insight about her mother’s inner three-year-old tell you about Rachel’s sensitivity and intelligence?
ƒƒ Rachel might be turning eleven, but her ability to understand how her mother feels—and put it into words—
far surpasses what a typical eleven-year-old can do. By comforting her mother and offering advice, she is
acting as if she is older. Again, a number cannot accurately define Rachel’s age.

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 “Eleven” by Sandra Cisneros THE WHEATLEY PORTFOLIO

5 Rachel’s voice is similar to that of a young girl. Looking at the first two paragraphs, what words does Rachel use
that show you she is not an adult? Next, look at some of the sentences in these paragraphs. Many begin with the
conjunction “and.” How does Cisneros use this type of syntax to make Rachel’s voice sound authentic?
ƒƒ Rachel uses words that are identifiable as childlike: like, mama, okay, stupid, maybe. These words help Rachel
sound real to her readers; these are words that an eleven-year-old would use when speaking.
ƒƒ Beginning sentences with the conjunction “and” sounds like Rachel is thinking aloud to herself, sharing
whatever thought comes into her mind. She speaks the way young people talk, stringing ideas together
without worrying about grammar rules.

6 In the third paragraph, Rachel sets up a series of similes that are both simple and complex in their
comparison to growing up. Explain the meaning of each simile. What do these similes suggest about Rachel’s
perceptiveness?
ƒƒ All three items (the onion, the tree rings, and the wooden dolls) consist of layers. The onion’s skins are layered,
the tree rings encircle each other with every passing year, and each wooden doll fits inside the next largest
one. All compare to a child who is the sum of all the years she has lived; in a sense, each previous age is still a
part of her makeup.
ƒƒ Like her ability to understand her mother’s feelings, Rachel can process her situation with unusual clarity and
maturity. She chooses items for comparison that she knows (such as her wooden dolls) or is familiar with (she
probably has learned about tree rings in school), but how she connects these known items to an abstract
concept (growing up) demonstrates her keen insight.

7 When Rachel talks about her age, or past ages, she uses the verb “feel” to explain what it is like being a certain
age. She states, “And you don’t feel smart eleven, not until you’re almost twelve.” What is the difference between
being eleven and feeling eleven?
ƒƒ Being eleven is a fact. A child becomes a new age when he or she has a birthday. Feeling a certain age is more
complicated, for it reflects the way a person sees how he or she measures up to a certain age’s expectations.
Rachel says feeling your age “takes a few days, weeks even, sometimes even months before you say eleven
when they ask you.” Rachel knows that being older and feeling older do not happen simultaneously; being
older happens automatically whereas feeling older depends on your experiences.

8 Rachel recounts the distressing incident that happens at school on the day of her birthday. She begins her
recollection by saying, “Only today I wish I didn’t have only eleven years rattling inside me like pennies in a tin
Band-Aid box.” How does Rachel’s choice of the words “rattling,” “pennies,” and “tin” indicate to the reader that
she is uncomfortable?
ƒƒ Rachel is confronted with a situation that makes her wish she were not a child. Her inability to address her
teacher in a confident way makes her feel inadequate and helpless. She equates the number of years a person
has with the amount of power a person has. She “would have known what to say when Mrs. Price put the
sweater on [her] desk” if she had been older.
ƒƒ Rattling means producing short, sharp sounds; pennies in a tin box would make such a sound, especially if the
box were shaken. Rachel equates her insubstantial years as pennies (money that has the least value); she feels
her age works against her because it leaves her feeling powerless. The sound imagery produced by the simile
emphasizes her discomfort at being the focus of Mrs. Price’s negativity. She has the spotlight on her, unlike her
classmates, who are nameless and part of the group called “everybody.”

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 “Eleven” by Sandra Cisneros THE WHEATLEY PORTFOLIO

9 What about the sweater bothers Rachel? How and why does she exaggerate its negative qualities?
ƒƒ Rachel fixates on how the sweater is ugly, cheap, and old, highlighting the sweater’s “plastic buttons,”
“stretched out” sleeves, and “raggedy” condition. She also describes it as “a big red mountain.”
ƒƒ She exaggerates what the sweater looks like by suggesting it is “maybe a thousand years old” and could be
used “for a jump rope.” She exaggerates these details because she wants to put distance between herself and
the sweater; something that old and ugly could never be hers, which she stresses when she says, “Even if it did
belong to me I wouldn’t say so.”
ƒƒ Comparing the sweater to a “big red mountain” exaggerates its size; in Rachel’s eyes, it is enormous. The
sweater stands in the way of Rachel standing up and advocating for herself; she does not feel mature in the
long shadow this “mountain” casts over her birthday. No matter how much she moves her chair away from it
or how far she pushes it away with her ruler, it still marks her by lying on her desk. Its color makes it even more
noticeable; like Rachel’s embarrassment and shame, the sweater’s red color makes it stand out and capture
everyone’s attention.

10 When her classmate Sylvia Saldivar suggests to the teacher that Rachel is the owner of the sweater, how does
Rachel react? What insight about Rachel does this reaction provide?
ƒƒ To feel better about herself, Rachel says in her mind what she cannot say aloud; she calls Sylvia Saldivar
“stupid.” Her use of alliteration (the repetition of the same first letter in a series of words) emphasizes how
strongly she feels about being wronged (and possibly being picked on by this particular girl).
ƒƒ Rachel assumes that Sylvia does not like her without providing any logical proof. Rachel feels that “maybe”
Sylvia suggests her name to Mrs. Price because she is “skinny” (and therefore easy to pick on). Rachel’s use of
the word “maybe” lets the reader know that she really is guessing what motivates Sylvia. Her reaction reveals
how insecure she feels when she is connected to the “raggedy” sweater. Sylvia’s comment has touched a nerve.

11 Throughout the story, Rachel matter-of-factly summarizes what to her seem the indisputable facts of life. For
example, she ends her thoughts with sentences such as, “That’s the way it is,” or “That’s how being eleven years
old is.” What makes Rachel conclude that “because [Mrs. Price] is older and the teacher, she’s right and I’m not”?
ƒƒ Rachel instinctively knows that an adult’s version of reality will always trump a child’s. Even though Rachel
knows that the sweater is not hers, the truth does not matter if her teacher disagrees with her. When Rachel
shares that she wishes she were 102 years old, this desire showcases Rachel’s understanding that power comes
with age. Being eleven, she has none.
ƒƒ These matter-of-fact declarations seem like something Rachel has heard her parents say to justify difficult
decisions or explain illogical events. Perhaps Rachel has been told that “because Mrs. Price is older and the
teacher,” Rachel cannot argue back or challenge her.

12 After Mrs. Price places the sweater on Rachel’s desk, Rachel repeats in her head the phrase, “Not mine, not
mine, not mine.” What does this phrase reveal about Rachel’s state of mind? Why might Rachel keep silently
repeating the phrase?
ƒƒ The phrase “not mine, not mine, not mine” mimics what a three-year-old might say. Rachel even acknowledges
this when she says, “the part of me that’s three wants to come out of my eyes” as she sits at her desk staring at
the red sweater.
ƒƒ She repeats the phrase almost as if she is wishing the sweater away. She squeezes her eyes “shut tight” and
retreats in her mind to a happy place by repeating to herself, “I am eleven, eleven” and by thinking about how
her mama and papa will make a cake and sing for her. But when she opens her eyes, the sweater is still there.
ƒƒ She again repeats the “not mine” series of phrases, but this time she physically moves herself and her things as
far away as possible from the offending clothing, as if distance might sever the connection between Rachel and
the sweater. Again, this action is a childlike and futile wish to control reality.

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13 Since her wish is not coming true and the sweater is still seen as hers, she transfers her anger from Mrs. Price
to the sweater itself. What does she imagine doing to the sweater? Why might these thoughts help her keep her
emotions in check so that she does not cry?
ƒƒ She pictures throwing the sweater “over the schoolyard fence” or “bunch[ing] it up into a little ball and toss[ing]
it in the alley.”
ƒƒ She needs to transfer her anger from her teacher to the sweater because she believes she is not allowed to
be angry with an adult. She cannot articulate her feelings to Mrs. Price, which leaves her feeling powerless.
Therefore, it is less painful to feel angry toward the sweater than insecure about herself.

14 For a second time, Rachel admits “I wish I wasn’t eleven” and says that “all the years inside of me—ten, nine,
eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, and one—are pushing at the back of my eyes.” What does the list of
numbers sound like to you (note that there is no “and” this time separating each number from the next)? What
is happening that causes Rachel to fall apart?
ƒƒ The list of numbers sounds like a countdown. It is the signal that Rachel can no longer hold back her tears.
ƒƒ Rachel falls apart in this paragraph because not only is she unable to distance herself from the sweater, she is
now forced to wear the sweater. After putting it on, she “[stands] there with [her] arms apart” as “if the sweater
hurts [her] and it does.” Now she wears the sweater and with it her visible shame and embarrassment; these
emotions are what hurt Rachel.

15 When Rachel begins crying in front of everyone, she admits, “I wish I was invisible but I’m not.” In the next
sentence, she says, “I’m eleven and it’s my birthday today and I’m crying like I’m three in front of everybody.”
What has Rachel learned about herself because of the incident with the sweater?
ƒƒ Wishing for things to be true does not guarantee anything. Rachel has wished before for certain things: she has
wished to be 102 years old so the right words will come out of her mouth when she needs to defend herself,
and now she wishes she could disappear so that the hurt will stop. But she cannot close her eyes anymore and
hope the sweater disappears. She cannot escape a painful situation, so instead, she states the sad facts: her
birthday has been ruined because she has been publicly shamed. Growing up means accepting, rather than
avoiding, reality.

16 When she “finally lets go,” Rachel’s description comes out as a giant run-on sentence seemingly full of
grammatical mistakes: “My face all hot and spit coming out of my mouth because I can’t stop the little animal
noises from coming out of me, until there aren’t any more tears left in my eyes, and it’s just my body shaking like
when you have the hiccups, and my whole head hurts like when you drink milk too fast.” How does the run-on
sentence mirror how Rachel is feeling?
ƒƒ The run-on sentence is missing verbs, commas, and periods; it does not follow grammatical rules. Similarly,
Rachel’s outburst does not follow the rules of how eleven-year-old young ladies should behave. The structure
of the sentence mirrors her emotional catharsis, containing all the feelings that Rachel has been holding back.
Once she can no longer fight the emotions “pushing at the back of her eyes,” she cannot control the way the
words pour out of her and fill several lines of text.

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 “Eleven” by Sandra Cisneros THE WHEATLEY PORTFOLIO

17 After Phyllis Lopez admits that the sweater is hers; Mrs. Price does not apologize to Rachel for being wrong, but
instead “pretends like everything’s okay.” After everything else that has happened, why would Mrs. Price’s lack of
an apology be considered the “worst part” of Rachel’s day?
ƒƒ • When Mrs. Price refuses to acknowledge that she was wrong—and Rachel was right—she prevents Rachel
from reclaiming her birthday. Rachel feels degraded when Mrs. Price makes her take false ownership of the
sweater, and she is shamed by her public outburst; by not apologizing, Mrs. Price never gives Rachel the chance
to regain her dignity.

18 When Rachel says, “it’s too late” in the second to last paragraph, what does she mean? Is it too late?
ƒƒ It is too late for Rachel to have a “happy” birthday.
ƒƒ Rachel will still have a party later that night, and there will be people (her mama and papa) who will most likely
shower her with all types of love (like a homemade cake and “candles and presents”). But Rachel has altered her
expectations of what her birthday will be like; this birthday will always be associated with feeling diminished,
having a “little voice,” and feeling “stupid” in front of her teacher and classmates.

19 Why does Rachel wish to be 102 years old at the end of the story? How would being 102 feel “far away like a
runaway balloon”?
ƒƒ Rachel wants to be 102 at the end of the story because she wants this birthday—and the humiliating
experience she has endured—to be in her very distant past.
ƒƒ Being 102 would feel “far away like a runaway balloon” because she would not be able to feel the shame
and embarrassment overshadowing her eleventh birthday. At 102, age eleven (and the emotional turmoil
associated with this birthday) would be buried very deeply underneath all her other ages. By being “far away
like a runaway balloon,” Rachel will finally create the distance she craves between herself and the red sweater.
ƒƒ A “runaway balloon” is a perfect simile for describing Rachel’s complicated desires: she wants to escape from
the incident at school; she wishes to feel eleven and no longer controlled by her other ages (especially age
three); and she desires simultaneously to be “invisible.” (The last paragraph’s countdown of Rachel’s past ages
seems to emphasize this desire for invisibility; after one, what is there? She chooses 102, an age most people
do not realistically reach.) All of these wishes and desires are captured by the image of a balloon becoming a
tinier and tinier speck in the sky.

Grammar
Students should review run-on sentences and how to correct them. For example, they should be directed to the
sentence found near the end of the story, which begins “My face all hot and spit coming out of my mouth…” Students
can come up with different versions to correct the run-on’s punctuation. Finally, teachers can discuss why an author
might choose to use a run-on sentence and when a writer should avoid using one.

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 “Eleven” by Sandra Cisneros THE WHEATLEY PORTFOLIO

Performance Assessment

Performance Assessment One

Note to teachers: Working with a partner, students will complete a pre-writing activity in preparation for the
performance assessment. This activity will ask students to analyze how the plot of “Eleven” builds toward a resolution, as
well as to track how the protagonist responds and changes as the story progresses.

Pre-writing prompt: The plot of a story can be described as resembling a mountain. As the story’s rising action
builds and builds, the climax (or highest point of the story) is finally reached when the protagonist’s struggle is at its
“peak,” or most intense. In order to better conceptualize what this “plot mountain” resembles in “Eleven,” answer the
following questions with a partner. Either respond to each question in separate paragraphs or complete a graphic
organizer that creates this “mountain” with textual evidence.

1. What do we know about Rachel and her situation as the story begins?
2. What major problems or conflicts does Rachel face and how does she try to solve her problems?
3. What is the emotional high point (or the turning point) of the story?
4. How does Rachel resolve her conflicts? Are there any issues that are unresolved by the end of the story?

Essay Prompt
By the conclusion to the story, does Rachel resolve her conflicts? Does her birthday wish to feel eleven come true?
Your essay response should:
ƒƒ Identify and explain Rachel’s main struggles in the story.
ƒƒ Identify and explain the conflicts developed in the story’s rising action.
ƒƒ Identify and explain the conflicts addressed in the story’s climax.
ƒƒ Identify and explain the resolution of the struggles or conflicts by the end of the story.

Alternative Performance Assessment

Sandra Cisneros’s use of powerful similes and striking details helps the reader understand how Rachel thinks and
imagine how Rachel feels. Similes, such as describing the sweater as a “big red mountain,” showcase Rachel’s ability to
grasp sophisticated ideas while also capturing her childlike perspective.

After analyzing how Cisneros uses similes and details to create a character, you will practice using figurative language
in your own writing. Your task is to compose a personal narrative describing your most embarrassing moment
or a time when you felt ashamed or humiliated. (You can substitute another person—such as a parent, friend or
completely fictional person—for yourself, but please use first-person point of view for the story’s narration.) In the
story, include all five components of plot (exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution). Also,
include at least three similes or metaphors that help convey how the main character is feeling.

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 “Eleven” by Sandra Cisneros THE WHEATLEY PORTFOLIO

To get you started, consider the following questions:

ƒƒ Where does the story begin?
ƒƒ Who are the main characters in the story?
ƒƒ What causes the embarrassing/humiliating event to occur?
ƒƒ How does the main character deal with this event? What about the other characters?
ƒƒ Why does the event cause the main character to feel ashamed?
ƒƒ How is the problem resolved?
ƒƒ Does the story have a sad or happy ending? A funny ending?

Note to teachers: If this performance assessment is chosen, students will benefit if teachers initially review and map the
plot components of “Eleven” as a class activity.

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